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A Primary Election is defined as a partisan election in which candidates are nominated. The nominees of each party are then placed on the ballot for the General Election. In Missouri you must declare your party when voting in a primary I am registered unaffiliated, may I vote in the upcoming primary? The voter must choose which party ballot he wishes to vote on the day of the Primary if the voter wishes to vote for candidates. The voter can ask for a non-partisan ballot if they wish to vote on the questions on the ballot only. When is the next General Election in Clay County? The next General Election in Clay County is on November 2, 2010. When is the deadline to register to vote in an Election? If mailed, the registration form must be postmarked at least 30 days prior to the election. If hand-delivered, the registration form must be received at the Board of Elections office no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 30th day prior to the Election. When are the polls open? The polls are open from 6:00 AM until 7:00 PM on Election Day. How do I know where to vote? When you register or make an address change or information change, or if the Board of Elections assigns you to a new precinct or polling place, the Board of Elections sends you a new voter card. Your voting place (polling place) is printed on the card. You are assigned a polling place based on the precinct where you live. If you don't know where to vote or if you have moved from the residence address that we have on file, don't wait until election day! You may experience a delay voting if your residence address is not up to date or if we have sent mail to your voter registration address that was returned to us by the Postal Service. You can use this website to find your current registration information, go to the home page and click on find your poll. If you have problems, please contact the Election Board office. I drive by a polling place on my way to work. Why can't I just vote there? You must vote at the polling place for your precinct on Election Day. That is where the precinct officials there will have your name on a list of all of the voters in the precinct. Any other polling location will not be able to verify that you are a registered voter, may not have the correct ballot for your districts and will not be able to let you vote. How do I know if my voter registration is up to date? If you are not sure of the status of your voter registration, call the Board of Elections office at 415-8683 and someone will verify your registration status. What if I moved within Clay County but didn't send an address change before the election? If a registered voter in Clay County has moved within Clay County and failed to notify the Board of Elections, it is a violation of the law to vote in his/her old precinct. The voter may still vote on Election Day however call the Board of Elections and they will direct the voter of how to change their address and what new poll they will have to vote at. What if a voter is unable to enter the polling place because of age or physical disability? If the voter wishes to vote on Election Day, the voter will be allowed to vote outside the polling place. This procedure is called "curbside voting". The precinct official will assist the voter in preparing the necessary paperwork. If possible, having someone enter the voting place and informing the precinct election official that a voter needs to vote curbside is helpful. Or the voter may choose to vote by absentee ballot. I will be away on election day. How do I vote by absentee ballot? All registered voters in Clay County may request an absentee ballot by mail or may vote absentee in person. Listing an excuse is required. For more detailed information call the Board of Elections office or click here. Magnifiers are also available at the polls or Election judges can bring a ballot out to the car for voting. My grown son (or married daughter or ex-husband or the person who used to live here) got mail from the Board of Elections at my house. He doesn't live here anymore, he lives in another state. Why don't you remove his name from the voter registration books? Reasons for removing voter registration are very specifically outlined in Missouri General Statutes. We cannot cancel a voter's registration just because someone tells us that we should. Voter registration cards are sent first class mail and are addressed to a specific person. ANY first class mail that you receive that is not addressed to you should be returned to the postman UNOPENED. You should note on the piece of mail that the person does not live at your address. Only after two or more such mailings are returned to our office and then after two federal elections have passed may we begin the removal process. Otherwise, we must receive official notice that the voter has registered elsewhere, has died, or has been convicted of a felony before we can remove a voter's registration records. We may also remove a voter's registration records if we receive a signed written request from the VOTER. If Junior is still on our books, please let Junior know to notify us that he wishes to be removed. How are the votes counted? Clay County voters use an optical voting machine. Once the voter has been determined eligible to vote and signs the roster at their designated polling precinct the election judges will hand them a paper ballot. The voter then takes that ballot into the voting booth. A pencil should be located in the booth. The voter then colors in the ovals next to the candidates and yes/no issues of their choice. Once the voter completes voting the ballot he/she places the ballot in the optical scan ballot tabulator (Accu-vote machine). The machine will accept the ballot unless the voter has voted for more than the allowable number of candidates in any race or issue. If this occurs the machine will return the ballot for correction, the voter must take the ballot to an election judge and will be given a new ballot to correct. When the machine accepts the ballot, the vote is recorded internally on a memory card. After the polls close, the election judges plug the machine into a phone line and the results are sent in a matter of seconds via modem to the Election Office. What are provisional ballots, when are they available, how are they counted? A provisional ballot is a ballot containing only federal candidates and statewide candidates and issues. They are available to persons claiming to be properly registered in Clay County and eligible to vote, but whose eligibility cannot be established upon examination of the precinct register or examination of the records on file with the election office. Provisional ballots are only available when statewide candidates and issues, or federal candidates are placed on a ballot and are only counted if the voter is determined to be registered and entitled to vote. The election office has 2 weeks from the date of the election to determine eligibility of a voter. Any person that votes a provisional ballot and is determined not to be registered will be entered into the database of eligible voters upon receipt of the provisional ballot. Does my absentee vote count? Yes. All absentee ballots are opened, separated from their envelopes and counted on Election Day at the election board office. The ballots are ran through an optical scan tabulator just like ballots are at the polls by a team of election staff, the results are saved on a memory card an uploaded on Election Night at the close of the polls. Absentee results are usually the first to display on election night. When are Write-In votes counted? Write-In votes are only counted if one of these two events occurs: 1. A candidate files a declaration to be a write-in candidate by 5:00 PM on the 2nd Friday preceding and election. 2. No candidate has filed for an office to be voted on in the election. Write-In candidates are not included in a Primary Election except Central Committee positions. |
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